House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed he did not know Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) had been accused of “beating a girlfriend” and that a judge issued a restraining order against him under Florida’s “dating violence” law, and then defended him.
One reporter asked Johnson:
Do you think this is an ethical violation, and do you think any disciplinary action is warranted?
Johnson responded with his usual feigned ignorance:
I have not heard or looked into any details of that. We have a House Ethics Committee; if it warrants that, I’m sure they’ll look into that.
A second reporter added:
Mr. Speaker, it’s been reported for a while. Cory Mills was accused of beating a girlfriend in his D.C. apartment. He was accused of stolen valor by the people that he claimed to have saved on the battlefield that have been on the record said that he did not save them.
I mean, this has been happening since the beginning of the year. Are you concerned about these allegations against Cory Mills?
Johnson quickly defended Mills:
Look, you have to ask Representative Mills about that. I mean, he’s been a faithful colleague here. I know his work on the Hill. I mean, I don’t know all the details of all the individual allegations and what he’s doing in his outside life. You have to ask him about that. Let’s talk about the things that are really serious.
(Sources: C-SPAN, Orlando Sentinel)